It’s the last Sunday of the month and Pastor E’s topic on his preaching today was from the book of Luke 14: 25-33 with a a topic of “The Cost of Discipleship”. Blessings are free and costly and there is very little blessings require in serving the Lord conveniently, Pastor E asked the congregation that considering God’s investment in us, what God have received from us?

Pastor E also gave some points on the cost of discipleship like the criteria, God says on verse 26 to love Him more than we love our parents, brother and sisters and whoever do not so cannot be his disciple then on verse 27  it was said that in following Jesus there will be a cross to carry, it means responsibility and on verse 28 we have to sit down and think if we can continue serving God given the responsibilities and cost.

Today, my sister accompanied our father to the hospital where my mother has been confined so he could have a check-up I can’t because I have to look after our mother at home, his been complaining about his ears for almost a month already. The hospital has a specialized ENT doctor and the doctor’s finding – my father’s ears were too dry, maybe because he overdo the cleaning. He clean his ears every day and every time it itches, I have decided to have my father’s check up since he I have heard him a few weeks ago complaining that there is something ringing in his ears and then these past few days he can’t hear well that I have to repeat anything so we could understand each other.

[Photo courtesy of earnoseandthroat.wordpress.com]

My father doesn’t want to go to the hospital because he is thinking about the doctor’s fee since we are financially down at this moment but I have told him he should go right now while it isn’t so serious yet and asked him that when is he going when he is totally deaf already or in need of operation. I also reasoned out that we are going to save more if he went immediately than later, I handed extra money to my sister so he could also bring my father to an optometrist since he is almost blind without the $1 reading glass from the street but when they went home they were not able to get a pair of glasses for him.

My sister had told me that after doctor’s fee our father has almost a thousand of pesos medicine prescription for a week for his ears and a follow-up check-up after a week so the ENT doctor could see if something improved on his ears after the medication. They didn’t buy the prescription yet, they went to the optometrist  and they found that it cost a thousand of pesos too. My sister went home to ask if what to do so I have told her to buy the prescription first and we will just get pair of glasses for our father when we already have funds for it. It was the right decision isn’t it?

Today, is Father’s Day Sunday. Instead of Pastor E preaching it was his wife who delivered God’s message, the scripture reading was from the book of 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 with a topic “A Portrait of Fatherhood.

[Photo courtesy of fathers-days.net]

Pastor E’s wife shared the traits of a father, according to her a father is able to express genuine love, he has transparent life where he isn’t ashamed to cry in front of others, he has unselfish diligence, genuine spirituality and positive influence in his child’s life.

There was some testimony from other members for their father, they were called to share something in front of the congregation.